The business model for utilities is changing fast as the rapid adoption of renewable energy resources shifts focus away from centralized generation and towards distributed systems with generation placed at the furthest edges of the grid.  This decentralization is being further accelerated by the high penetration of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and grid edge sensors that expand both the location and concentration of critical data to the grid’s periphery.  Utilities now have unprecedented access to data generated from both utility—and increasingly consumer-owned—grid-connected devices, providing them with a high-level of visibility into the unique operational characteristics and conditions of their systems.  The key then, is for utilities to transform this edge data into action, improving efficiency, reliability, and service quality for their customers.

Landis+Gyr’s distributed intelligence platform harnesses the full potential of these distributed data sources and utilizes edge computing and powerful utility-centric data analytics, to optimize both system visibility and the power management capabilities of distribution systems. These technologies enable utilities to strengthen and validate decision-making by incorporating near-real time monitoring and conditional response and proactive condition-based planning scenarios.

Embedded Network and Grid Edge Computing

In addition to increased system-wide visibility, Landis+Gyr’s distributed intelligence platform incorporates increased computing power into the grid devices themselves, and provides the embedded intelligence needed to create micro-communications networks, where edge devices and network components communicate locally.

Distributed smart grid applications running on these devices process information that enable utilities to have localized visibility and fast control capabilities in order to react to rapidly-changing conditions at the grid edge.

The result is a flexible system architecture designed to support multiple configurations, and capable of shifting intelligence between endpoints, network devices, and host applications.  This flexibility allows utilities to reconfigure communications and deploy applications – with virtually no hardware changes in the field, to meet the functionality and features of changing utility requirements and standards -all at the lowest possible cost to the utility. 

Advanced Grid Analytics   

Landis+Gyr’s distributed intelligence platform includes a suite of powerful, utility-specific analytics applications –running on premise, in cloud, or at the grid edge— that further expands the value of data obtained from distributed devices by creating actionable intelligence for the utility. 

By utilizing the power of a flexible communications network, distribution network models, and advanced physics-based algorithms, utilities can now have access to accurate, dynamic monitoring and active management of the grid. This results in improved reliability, safety and network performance, all while reducing costs, meeting regulatory compliance, and enhancing customer satisfaction. 

Landis+Gyr’s analytics platform provides scenario-based planning through modular, flexible, and scalable applications for utilities and includes specific applications for asset management, reliability planning, voltage analysis, revenue protection, distributed energy resource (DER) optimization, and network model validation.

A Distributed View for the Future

Landis+Gyr’s vision for the future is focused on connecting intelligent grid devices, distributed processing, and flexible communications networks that respond to each utility’s unique operating conditions. To learn more about Landis+Gyr’s distributed intelligence platform click HERE. More information about Landis+Gyr’s analytics applications can be found HERE.